I was totally wowed when I saw a post over on With This Ring... about a bride who wanted to incorporate her mother's gown into her own wedding. It is so incredibly sweet and sentimental, I felt I had to share it with y'all.

Meet Therese, who is seen here wearing her mother's original bridal dress. She hired seamstress Janet Brunton to completely remake the dress and update it with a modern feel.

Here's the structure of the new dress:

I am amazed at how beautiful the dress turned out! It's almost like watching an episode of Project Runway and seeing a piece of art made into another masterpiece. Now for some pictures from Therese's real wedding!

Look how gorgeous that dress flows! I bet it looks wonderful when she spins on the dance floor too!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

For our reception, we had decided to celebrate with a Chinese banquet because of two reasons - 1) it celebrates our culture and heritage and 2) it was the most economical choice!

Our reception turned out to be what people still say was "the most awesome wedding they've ever been to," and if you see the pictures below - you can see that there was much eating, drinking and most of all...dancing! I guess that's what happens when you marry a DJ =)

We kept things economical by ordering a yummy cake from our favorite chinatown bakery and created all of our own paper goods - including the menus, escort cards, programs, invitations, etc.

Because we wanted to be able to document who was at our wedding, we made sure to stop by every single table to chat and also take a group photo. To see the rest of the group photos, please see the full collection of our pictures!

Instead of hiring a videographer, we bought a videocam and had our good friends tape the entire reception. The recording might be a bit bumpy, but it'll also have some personal narration=) we haven't had a chance to watch the whole thing yet, but we're looking forward to hearing all of our guests' messages!

From what I recall, I think every single guest got on the dance floor at some point! I think it almost turned into a club atmosphere =p

Monday, December 21, 2009

I'm super excited to share my very own wedding pictures with all of you! In particular, I just want to say a big thank you to our friends and family, who made this day possible. Enjoy =)

the sweetest thing that happened that day: Simon wrote me a note before the day even got started just to tell me how excited he was! I now carry that note with me everyday =)

We had been encouraged by our family to see each other before the wedding, so that we could have a moment alone to pray and chat before all the excitement began. I think you can tell that I was just as excited as Simon.

Everything seemed ready! My dress was perfect, Simon's Nikes were tied, the flowers were ready, and all of our helpers were set in their positions...the only thing left to do was to walk down that aisle.

officially husband and wife! All smiles and no tears =)

Our bridal party was so supportive of us. They are truly the best friends we could possibly have =)

Thank you again to all the guests who came to support and encourage us in this next step of our lives!

wouldn't these be really pretty in a light shade of greens and pinks? Now you don't have to pick flowers to go with your color coordination, maybe just pick some simple white flowers to go in some vases with some va-va-voom!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

There's a fun DIY post over on The Inspired Bride. For those of you who are thinking about having a photobooth at your wedding or even just some fun new year's eve party - think about creating some props to make the posing more fun!

These mustaches are super easy to make - click here for the template and buy the lollipop sticks at Wilton.

Friday, December 11, 2009

I saw these really pretty fabric pompoms created by Dolci Odille via Once Wed today. I haven't attempted to DIY them myself...yet, but I think they could make really stylish pomanders to be hung above tables or for a little flowergirl to carry down the aisle.

The instructions seem so simple, I almost feel like I have to give this a try!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Maddy at The Inspired Bride has created these super cute postcards that are free to download. She sent a different one to each one of her blogger friends, and if you go to their sites you can "collect" the postcard download. I've gone on a mission to track them down!

This new trend is pretty ingenious, if I must say. Using succulents in centerpieces and bouquets is a stylish, unique way that is easily DIY-able. They're easy to grow and extremely easy to replant, as I learned from Jessica, the clever bride spotlighted today on Southern Weddings. Her and her now-husband, Curt, collected and harvested succulents over the course of 6 months. They ended up with enough "arrangements" to cover their reception venue. Jessica even had her bouquet made of all succulents so that she could replant them after the wedding & keep them forever! How brilliant!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

There is something so beautiful about sweet & understated bouquets and centerpieces that just don't look like they're "trying to hard."

By selecting flowers like delphinium, larkspur, gerbera daisies, spray roses, billy balls, mums and dahlias, the result can look almost like a fresh bouquet of wildflowers. As an extra touch, old-fashioned jam jars and milk vases make the centerpieces look organic.

Vera Wang sample sale - only happens once a year! gown will be 25-75% off and shoes will be on sale as well. Saturday, 12/12, only from 9am-5pm at the New Yorker Hotel - 481 8th Ave at 34th street. This sale is usually really packed and busy...there's usually a line down the block at 7am. Check out From "I will" to "I do" for some tips on how to make the most of this sale!

Pronovias sample sale - one day only sale where gowns will be up to 75% off. Sunday, 12/6 at the New York flagship store - 14 East 52nd Street. Make sure you call to make an appointment here - no walk-ins!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

There's an exclusive interview with the bride of a $10,000 wedding over at Temple of Groom! Go check it out - she's one of my inspirations for throwing sensibly priced weddings =)

How sensible is she? I've been religiously reading her anonymous blog for more than a year...learning from her creative ways of keeping her wedding under a very low budget (yup, $10,000). I loved everything that she did! Her smartest moneysaver? Hosting her lunch wedding at a Lawry's restaurant (where you KNOW the food is good!) for only $45-50 a head.

She also made these paper flower centerpieces & escort cards to add a touch of romance with the practical knowledge that these flowers won't die!